Are short haired girls more assertive?

I found myself writing this earlier and thought - do I believe it? The answer is YES! I know you cannot generalise but in the same way that I find short people more noisy (they find they have to be to get noticed at an early age) I also find that the shorter a girl`s hair is, the greater the likelihood that she`ll be self-opinionated. Nothing wrong in this of course (note I didn`t say bossy), it just seems to me that you can go some way to determining a woman`s character by the extent to which she is prepared to "go against the grain", by cutting her hair the way that her mom probably doesn`t like. Am I right?

According to Physique.com, a http://www.physique.com/sn/sn_yale-study2.asp">Yale study outlined the assumptions people make based upon hair style:

"Women wearing short, tousled hairstyles (think Meg Ryan and Charlize Theron) are seen as the most confident and outgoing, an asset when meeting new people or starting a career."

Perhaps short-haired women and girls grow into the beliefs people hold about them based upon their hair; in effect, a self-fulfilling propecy argument. But then again, I`m a journalist, not a psychologist. I agree with the post below that it`s a primative way of rushing to judgment....but people still judge based upon color, clothes, possessions, etc.

determining a woman`s character by the extent to which she is prepared to "go against the grain", by cutting her hair the way that her mom probably doesn`t like. Am I right?

Interesting topic PHil. Is a short hair woman more assertive than a long hair woman? hum. I don`t know about that Phil but what I do know is that being a long hair woman never stopped me from being assertive, confident in my myself. Never stop me from asking men out or asking them to marry me etc. Never stop me to romance the opposite sex. ( wait a second I am a long hair woman!!!)
I met some very sweet short hair women who couldn`t even stand up for themselves and turn around and met some arrogant long hair women who feel that the world owes them. Long hair or short hair doesn`t make up a character. It can give some possible clues to someone character like myself who wear red a lot. Wears the reddest lipstick on the market and can do it with class.

determining a woman`s character by the extent to which she is prepared to "go against the grain", by cutting her hair the way that her mom probably doesn`t like. Am I right?

Interesting topic PHil. Is a short hair woman more assertive than a long hair woman? hum. I don`t know about that Phil but what I do know is that being a long hair woman never stopped me from being assertive, confident in my myself. Never stop me from asking men out or asking them to marry me etc. Never stop me to romance the opposite sex. ( wait a second I am a long hair woman!!!)
I met some very sweet short hair women who couldn`t even stand up for themselves and turn around and met some arrogant long hair women who feel that the world owes them. Long hair or short hair doesn`t make up a character. It can give some possible clues to someone character like myself who wear red a lot. Wears the reddest lipstick on the market and can do it with class.

So, growing hair long - or very long for that matter - doesn`t count as `going against the grain` then Phil? Sorry, but this sounds like a load of hogwash to me.

Chris

I understand what Phil is trying to say and at the same time I totally agree with Chris. It takes a lot more character to grow one`s hair long than it takes to cut it. In my opinion when we see someone with long hair it tells us that person is dertermine to accomplish their goals in life and will actually take the necessary steps to carry out the mission.
It takes years to grow a certain length, years of being torture to change our paths by others, and most of all we have to be certain in our heart that is what we want. Can`t be weak tree in a storm and can`t change our mind monthly. Its like having cruise control on a car and going on a straight road without stopping.

I understand what Phil is trying to say and at the same time I totally agree with Chris. It takes a lot more character to grow one`s hair long than it takes to cut it. In my opinion when we see someone with long hair it tells us that person is dertermine to accomplish their goals in life and will actually take the necessary steps to carry out the mission.
It takes years to grow a certain length, years of being torture to change our paths by others, and most of all we have to be certain in our heart that is what we want. Can`t be weak tree in a storm and can`t change our mind monthly. Its like having cruise control on a car and going on a straight road without stopping.

I think it depends on a number of things. It is always hard to make general statements & include everybody in those groups, but it doesn`t stop us from doing it any way. For the purposes of this post I`d like to consider long hair, as hair that falls, at about just below the shoulders to about mid-to-3/4 of the way down the back. I consider this the average hair length on most women, & I think society sees it this way too. To have your hair longer then that is seen by many as having long, envious hair, & there is a certain amount of idealising & admiration to those that do. However, I think those who choose to wear their hair shorter, are seen in a different light. While I don`t agree 100% with the statement, I do think there is a certain amount of truth to it. Many short hairer girls that I know seem to feel more confident. While some longer-haired women used thier hair as an identity or a way of attracting men, those with shorter hair uses other methods & traits to do so. However, I also feel there is a lot to be said about the woman who changes her look all the time & doesn`t get tied down to always looking the same, regardless of what their hair length is.

:|That`s weird.
People acctually make assuptions on people`s personality baised on their hair length?

This is such a stupid subject.

My mother has long hair, and she is totally assertive, to the point of being domineering,
defensive, and often insisting that she is
right.

How primitive to judge people on their length
of hair. A zillion factors can determine why
we cut or grow, style heavily or leave natural,
etc our hair. It might have something to do
with our strength of character, but that may
be just baloney. Sheesh..........

Hair length has nothing to do with the character of a person.
There are just as many strogly committed short hair/medium har people as long hair people.
Hair is a statement of one`s preference.
Hey Duke, we agree!!!

:)Well said Duke!

Actually, I find this interesting on many levels. Having gone from calf length hair to very short, does this mean that I can no longer be committed to anything? Does the fact that I once showed a committment to grow very long hair mean that by defacto I still am a committed personality? Does the fact that I now spend time every few weeks getting my hair trimed show a committment to short hair? And if so, does that mean anyone else that has short hair shows a committment also? Did my assertiveness happen because I cut my hair or did I cut my hair because I became more assertive? I do know that I am much more assertive now than I was a year ago, and a year ago I had long hair. Hmmmm...Could it be that other things in my life caused this assertive quality to come forward? So much to ponder...:-)

Noreen,
Something to ponder.

Is it really the fact you cut your long hair short makes you more assertive? In my opinion, maybe I am wrong and your the only one that can answer this, I think that when you cut your hair you felt like a brand new woman and you probably started to wear different styles of clothing to suit your new look and it was exciting. When we feel great about ourselves we become more assertive.
This reminds me right after the birth of my second child I had 50lbs to lose and I felt awful and when I lost those 50lbs I felt like I was a new woman and my personality change a lot, I bought new clothes, I notice curves where I thought there weren`t and that made me more confident, more assertive. I think the same holds to colouring hair.

:|Diane has a point too!!:)
:DLoL:D

Could it be that having your hair cut short can be a frightening experience and those that manage to overcome their fears in the chair (the restictions of the cape and stuff) feel therefore stronger and able to take on other new challenges?
Of course the length in itself is not a sign of character, but for many overcoming inner fears and pre-set opinions of others is an enormous boost for morale! I`ve done it and it has helped me...

While a person`s character may ultimately
result in a certain way of wearing the hair,
one can certainly not draw such clear-cut
parallels. One should not fall into the ugly
trap of judging people by their hair. It
ultimately depends on the person.

Note that many people do not wear their
hair the same way all their lives. The Meg
Ryan example above is a moot point, for
ten or so years ago, she had long
hair(piece?), then had it cropped. In the
recent film Kate and Leopold, it is longer
again but cut in a sharp "modern" style.
Being an actress, her employers or their
crew may have had more of a say in the
matter than she.

Colonel John Doe
Commanding Officer, the Cameron
Highlanders Militia for Freedom and
Democracy

Hi Colonel....I`ve seen a lot of your posts and I`ve been wondering, what does your screename and signature mean? Friendly curiosity :-)

btw I agree about Meg Ryan....what style HASN`T she had? And yet she still holds that same persona as America`s sweetheart (minus that unfortunate Russell Crowe thing) regardless of her hair. I mentioned the survey because I thought it was interesting...although paid for by Physique, so that might tell you something why they place emphasis on having the "right" style for the "right" look.

Hey Colonel, we agree, finally we agree! Well done!

Lyris, I head a budding military-style lobby group
for the preservation and extension of human
rights and freedoms. The Militia is supposed to
perpetuate the tradition of the Scottish Highland
regiments, but so far, its only Highland attribute
is a serviceman who is a piper. The group is
dedicated, in these complacent times, to helping
people know and fight for greater rights in a
spirit of equality, mutual respect, and fairness.
Last winter, this website caught my eye for it
allows people to discuss issues relating to
hair, which is something that is unfairly used in
our world to judge and control people, ans well
as to pressure them to conform.

Colonel John Doe

Of all the replies I think Amanda has the best point; it could be that girls who are willing to take the plunge are also those who feel better able to conquer innermost fears. This may at least on the surface give them the appearance of being more assertive. Well said!
I think Diane, you have a good point also that it must take an awful lot of character to grow hair long, quite a different quality altogether to one who has it chopped off. Maybe I was doing long hair women a disservice implying they are not assertive, perhaps instead we should celebrate their perseverance!
Duke, I don`t think it`s entirely hogwash that we judge a person`s character by their hairstyle. I know it`s subjective and probably unfair but we all do it, that`s why we are members of HB, because hair matters! All the time people are trying to guage personalities using external factors, personally I think hair is as good a pointer as any, and even if I`m wrong I still get a lot of fun out of it.
Noreen , so many things to ponder. I don`t suppose your personality will be changed the moment you cut your hair but my original question referred to the motive behind the action. Is it only the more assertive, the ones more prepared to embrace change who reach for the scissors? I don`t know, but to finish I just want to point out that I don`t consider one quality any better than the other, just different.

The last pictures I saw of Charlize and Cameron had them with chin-length styles, which many people don`t consider short.

Of all the replies I think Amanda has the best point; it could be that girls who are willing to take the plunge are also those who feel better able to conquer innermost fears. This may at least on the surface give them the appearance of being more assertive. Well said!

Phil that would only apply to people who really do have a fear of cutting their hair as something like having the complishment of learning to drive a car etc. but the reality is to cut your hair is the most easiest thing to do for most people and hardly anyone thinks its a big deal and we are conditioned to think that we need a haircut once a month or whatever. Personally I think the ones that actually go against the flow are the ones that are more assertive and stronger in character.

Yes Diane, I do take your point, like I said maybe we should instead be celebrating the perserverance of those girls who are able to grow their hair long. Just one thing though, do you think that short hair in women is so commonplace these days that actually *growing it* is now going against the flow?

Yes Phil growing it is coming against the flow. It has become very obvious these days even more when events occur like huge social dances and I find that maybe there might be two other women in the group of 200 people who have long hair like mine. The other day dancing under the canapy among 2,000 I only noticed three other women that had long hair.